"The TourWrist virtual tour technology empowers travelers to make faster, more informed and confident travel planning and booking decisions," said Charles Armstrong, Founder and CEO of TourWrist

Berlin, Germany (PRWEB) March 06, 2013

TourWrist, the best-in-class virtual tour platform, announced today nearly 40 travel companies have licensed the brand new TourWrist software development kit (SDK) to integrate TourWrist technology into their apps and websites.

“Our virtual tour technology empowers travelers to make faster, more informed and confident travel planning and booking decisions,” said TourWrist Founder and CEO Charles Armstrong whom is also a speaker at PhoCusWright@ITB travel-tech conference today. “By integrating our panoramic recording, viewing and sharing experience into their apps and websites, TourWrist will help these innovative travel companies increase bookings and traveler satisfaction.”

“If a photo is worth a thousand words, then a 360-degree panorama ("pano") is worth a thousand photos to help research, plan and book travel,” said TourWrist SVP and Chief Marketing Officer Dan Smigrod. “Travel, hospitality and tourism companies can now supercharge their mobile and web experiences with our TourWrist pano tech.”

At PhoCusWright@ITB Berlin today, Armstrong announced the following new, travel industry licensees:

529:App Solutions – focuses on providing mobile App solutions to businesses in the travel and tourism industries. The whole community approach focus is on Convention and Visitor Bureaus and their Eat-Shop-Stay establishments. 529:App Solutions uses multiple emerging technologies in order to give its hospitality clients an edge in the fast growing mobile market and to enhance clients' marketability while dramatically increasing revenues and reducing costs. The 529:App Solutions mission is to develop a financially disciplined business that leads the travel and tourism world in providing superior mobile marketing solutions to all local businesses and communities. The agency's vision is to be recognized as a world class leader in mobile marketing solutions for entrepreneurs, businesses and local communities, utilizing cutting-edge technologies and enterprise software systems. 529:App Solutions is a veteran and women owned small business. (http://www.529apps.com)

Barefoot Technologies Corporation – a leading provider of browser-based reservation and asset management systems in the vacation rental industry. It has the distinction of being the first browser system in the industry, the first to provide online booking, tenant, owner access and to offer social media tools and is designed to be tailored to meet clients’ exacting needs. Barefoot is also the only system with a full customer relations program wrapped into the program, which in effect makes it the only full service system in the industry. Founded in 1998, by leading technology and industry players, the “.NET platform” has become a standard for those who are trend setters in the industry and those who desire to dominate their market with unique functionally. (http://www.Barefoot.com)

Blynk – is a leader in digital concierge, self service and e-menu apps for the hospitality industry. Blynk is revolutionizing the interaction between the hospitality industry and its customers. Blynk’s mobile apps, enable hospitality companies to revolutionize their guest experience and interaction. Apps, powered by Blynk, deliver all hotel services to guests at their fingertips. (http://www.Blynk.it)

Contac Services Inc. – a global, multi-disciplinary leader specializing in end-to-end customer relationships. Contac blends its full suite of products and services with state of the art technology to provide completely integrated solutions that give clients winning and measurable results. In its 35th year of business, Contac provides a comprehensive range of products and services to major brands around the world. With its mywurld™ platform, supply chain management, online marketing and travel technology platforms, Contac helps clients build brand and customer loyalty. (http://www.contacservices.com)

HotelMe - is a next generation travel review site and travel community helping consumers make more informed travel planning decisions by offering real reviews based on actual stays. Launched in joint partnership with USA Today / Gannett, HotelMe provides a comprehensive resource and community for travelers seeking a trusted information source, with a personal and local approach. Most travel review sites only require a valid email address to submit a review resulting in the proliferation of fictitious review content. HotelMe cuts through the clutter by offering consumers verified reviews that have been written by guests who have actually been confirmed as having stayed at the hotel they reviewed, under their patent pending process. The HotelMe website and authentication platforms were launched in beta in September 2012. Join HotelMe in their mission is to ignite an evolution for online travel review sites and a truer form of travel knowledge. (http://www.HotelMe.com)

The Independent Traveler, Inc. – a publisher of online travel resources and travel forums, produces three popular travel sites: Cruise Critic®, Family Vacation Critic® and IndependentTraveler.com®. The company launched its first travel site, The Independent Traveler®, in 1990 as the first travel forum on AOL and a place for travelers from all over the world to share travel experiences and advice. Today, IndependentTraveler.com (http://www.independenttraveler.com) continues to provide inspiring travel ideas, practical travel advice, travel deals and trip reviews written by travelers. The company’s largest site, Cruise Critic (http://www.cruisecritic.com) is a comprehensive cruise resource featuring cruise reviews, deals, news and advice on all aspects of planning a cruise. Cruise Critic’s popular online forum hosts the world's largest cruise community where travelers share their passion for cruising and connect with other cruisers. Family Vacation Critic (http://www.familyvacationcritic.com), is dedicated to helping parents to plan the best family vacations by providing reviews of family-friendly hotels, resorts, destinations and attractions. The site also features vacation ideas, family travel deals, advice for traveling with kids, and an online forum for family travelers. The Independent Traveler, Inc., is a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Inc. (http://www.IndependentTraveler.com)

LookBermuda – a tourism focused rich media production company. Working with tourism boards, government agencies, resorts, museums and real estate companies, LookBermuda is a market leader in producing and distributing high quality media assets, including: photos, videos and panos. LookBermuda will leverage the TourWrist SDK to embed its own pro shot virtual tours into its clients' apps and websites. For a visually rich destination such as Bermuda, there is no better way to showcase all that Bermuda has to offer and enable guests to make informed travel decisions. (http://www.LookBermuda.com)

Runtriz – has developed the leading mobile platform for the hospitality industry, powering the digital and mobile strategies of many of the world's top casinos and hotels. Runtriz's platform offers custom solutions giving hotel guests full control of their experience by placing all services and amenities in the palm of their hands. The company also offers mobile ordering and workflow management solutions to improve food and beverage service on the casino floor, poolside, and at other venues on property. Runtriz clients are experiencing higher guest service scores, greater revenues and improved efficiency. (http://www.Runtriz.com)

Spark – a full service creative agency that believes a compelling story can spark change. The agency passionately crafts compelling content and connected experiences that make brands relevant in a complex world. Spark's clients value their strategic thought leadership and collaboration in helping them address their brand, campaign, and content marketing needs. With a focus in the travel and hospitality space, some of those client partners include Visit Florida, Tampa Bay & Co., and one of the newest additions to the Marriott Autograph Collections, the Epicurian. (http://www.Spark.Us)

@TravelDeals – the leading publisher of travel deals on the web. The @TravelDeal team of deal experts research and evaluate offers from hundreds of global travel companies, including airlines, OTA's, cruise lines, voucher based companies, and small independent hotels - and then they share the best ones with its audience in a friendly way. Founded over 5 years ago as a Twitter-focused community, @TravelDeals now has over 1.8 million Twitter followers across 40 accounts and has expanded its consumer-facing offerings with a website, travel deals email newsletter and a robust network of travel publishers. (http://www.AtTravelDeals.com)

TribalTourist.com – "Discover Africa is our motto. We love the outdoors; it's where we develop character, confidence, clear minds, healthy bodies and respect for nature." Tribal Tourist is a community of people who are inspired by Africa, adventure & life. The community seeks people to join their Tribe, to share photo's, video's and experiences. Climb the highest mountains, swim with great white sharks, explore the unknown. If adventure is what you seek, then join TribalTourist.com today. (http://www.TribalTourist.com)

WorldVentures – a social commerce, peer-to-peer marketing pioneer and the direct-selling industry’s largest seller of vacation and entertainment club memberships. With a network of more than 100,000 Independent Representatives in 22 countries, the company’s DreamTrips™ vacation club offers vacationers access to some of the most unique global and local travel and entertainment experiences available anywhere at any price. The privately held company is headquartered in Plano, Texas. (http://www.WorldVentures.com)

The nearly 40 travel companies licensing the TourWrist technology include 18 travel organizations announced in January and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Visit Calgary and the Las Vegas Sands Corp. which were announced in November at The Travel Innovation Summit @ The PhoCusWright Conference.

About TourWrist, Inc.

TourWrist is the world’s leading virtual tour platform empowering consumers to record, view and share 360-degree panoramic (pano) images via smartphones, tablets and computers. The company employs a model similar to YouTube (but uniquely suited to panoramic virtual tours) and licenses its virtual tour viewer and capture technology to travel companies to integrate TourWrist tech within their apps and websites. The company mission is to improve how consumers make educated, location-based travel decisions.

‘TourWrists’ can easily record and upload their own spherical panoramic images, or browse and share any of the 66,000+ geo-tagged panos already uploaded. The global TourWrist platform (apps, mobile web and website) is preparing to reach many millions of travelers in 2013; complete with localization for many major languages.

TourWrist launched commercially in early 2011. In 2012, TourWrist swept up four awards at The Travel Innovation Summit @ The PhoCusWright Conference including The General Catalyst Award for Travel Innovation. TourWrist was also awarded Best of Show at Macworld; and DEMOgod and the DEMO People’s Choice awards at DEMO Spring 2012. Apple has featured TourWrist more than 600 times in its App Store. TourWrist has reached “#1 iPad Travel App” status in more than 80 countries.

The company has a highly-regarded IP portfolio that includes a dozen pending patents. The company also owns and operates the world’s largest panoramic photography forum, PanoGuide.com, with 7,200+ professional virtual tour photographers globally; and is a sponsor of the International VR Photography Association (IVRPA).

Funding for the private San Francisco–based emerging travel tech company includes venture capital firms Thayer Ventures and General Catalyst Partners. For more information about TourWrist, please visit: